Fair Diary: Starting Over

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justlooking
Posts: 118
Joined: Sat Feb 14, 2009 1:02 am

Fair Diary: Starting Over

Post by justlooking »

That other thread was highjacked for very different purposes, but I'm still curious about people's experiences at the fair. And I'm sure lots of other people recruiting this year or planning for the future are too. I have a lot of friends and colleagues recruiting now- many at the London fair right now- and most have been highly successful. It feels like a candidate's year. So would anyone care to comment?
Climberman
Posts: 76
Joined: Sun Mar 09, 2014 7:29 pm

Re: Fair Diary: Starting Over

Post by Climberman »

From what I read about the actual fairs, I did not get that it was a candidate's market. It seemed that a lot of teachers were complaining about NOT getting interviews or offers.

Also, I didn't mind that the thread was "hijacked". All information and points of view are important in making decisions about schools and about making the decision to not work at international schools.
twimih
Posts: 21
Joined: Fri Jan 03, 2014 8:12 am

Re: Fair Diary: Starting Over

Post by twimih »

I am currently attending the London fair. It’s very hard to say how things are going. If you are in a high needs area, things are great! If you are one of 50 equally qualified teachers there for 2 openings, things aren’t so great. It all depends. So some people are having a wonderful, successful time, and others are looking pretty stressed out. As usual, candidates start out excited and optimistic, and then later you see the same people when the tension sets in.

Some things I’ve noticed today, the sign-up-for-interviews day: a lot of people are getting a lot of interviews. Some schools stopped taking resumes and scheduling interviews very early because they had enough strong candidates to consider and didn’t want any more. Lots of math and science positions are open at MS & HS levels. Loads of interest from candidates in the northern European countries. Middle Eastern schools often had no one in front of their tables, but I overheard candidates showing interest in some of them. Openings posted can be quite different from the openings posted on the Search database, as things change quickly. I heard quite a few recruiters admit they already have strong candidates in the pipeline that they’ve been in contact with before the fair, so it almost feels like they are looking more for backups than finding a new, exciting candidate who hadn’t gotten on their radar yet. A lot of openings are tentative, and I think that’s because the teachers leaving are also trying to find that new position, so they’re holding the old one until they do.

What I find interesting is comparing the London fair to the Cambridge fair I attended a few years ago. I’d say London is better planned and more smoothly run. The recruiters are a bit more cheerful - I think they’re worn out by the time Cambridge comes around. There’s no social event here in London. The candidate pool seems to be more experienced than the one in Cambridge. But the sign-up session needs to be in a bigger space - that was better at the Cambridge fair.

Overall, I don’t believe you can make sweeping statements about how “good” a fair is - everyone’s experience is theirs alone. My fair experience now is going to be very different from my last, not because of the fair, but because of the very different - and very narrow - focus of my search, which is what I want to do this time around. It might work, it might not, but I have all the possibilities planned, so that’s ok. I still think the face-to-face experience is invaluable. I know that there are schools looking at me now because I spoke personally to a recruiter who would not have considered me just through an emailed application. And that makes it worth it.
justlooking
Posts: 118
Joined: Sat Feb 14, 2009 1:02 am

Re: Fair Diary: Starting Over

Post by justlooking »

Thanks Twimih. That's exactly what I think we need. The reason I said it was a candidate's year is completely anecdotal. But from all the stories I heard this year, I've inferred that even people not in high needs areas are doing well. Here are some examples:

Us- Both secondary, neither high needs, one dependent, had three offers after Skype interviews with 6 schools. Very happy with the final result.

Couple 2: Lang B teacher, PK teacher, 2 dependents, got jobs at Bangkok fair, had at least one other offer

Couple 3: PK teacher, tech coordinator, 3 dependents, got a job at Search London

Couple 4: English and Math, got jobs via Skype

Couple 5: Art and History, got jobs at CIS fair, Tier 1 School

Couple 6: Admin and trailing spouse, 2 other dependents, Tier 1 School

Teacher 7: Music, got a couple of offers at CIS, took job at a Tier 1 School

AND I haven't heard back from a few others. I don't know anyone going to any other fairs, but I'd be curious to hear about other experiences too although I hope that I personally will not be looking for a job anytime soon.
sciteach
Posts: 258
Joined: Sat Dec 13, 2014 7:49 am

Re: Fair Diary: Starting Over

Post by sciteach »

I've already posted in the last thread - but I can confirm that your specialization plays an important role in how successful you are.

For example, at the Melbourne fair a MS principal at a tier 1 school stated in an interview that he'd received over 100 online application for the Humanities position but only 8 for the MS Science position. So - teachers with strong international experience who teach Science/Math with good references can almost choose Tier 2 schools of their choice and there is limited competition compared to normal at the Tier 1 schools.

For some reason - I found this year much easier to get a job than last year but sometimes it's just the luck of the draw. I'm looking forward to hearing how my current school went at getting teachers in London - but I'm not really comfortable mentioning the school on the forum....
Route66
Posts: 26
Joined: Tue Nov 11, 2014 9:33 am

Re: Fair Diary: Starting Over

Post by Route66 »

I'm also at the London fair... It's my first fair and has been a very intense and interesting experience so far had 8 interviews and a couple offers.... I guess how well the fair is for you depends on your subject area. I will create a fair diary later today once it settles down a bit!!
jessiejames
Posts: 76
Joined: Thu Feb 20, 2014 7:00 pm

Re: Fair Diary: Starting Over

Post by jessiejames »

It was also my first fair and so I can't compare numbers, it seemed extremely busy! There was no difficulty getting interviews or offers despite my lack of international experience. I'm not in a shortage subject and I spoke to others in my field who are also receiving offers at their desired schools, so I would attend the fair again in the future. I hope everyone is closer to finding the right job for them.
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